This invention relates to a support for a cable for supplying a welding wire, carbonate gas, or electric power to a working tool of an industrial robot, such as a welder.
In industrial robots, a working tool mounted on the extremity of an operating arm is operated in a three-dimensional locus by means of a plurality of operating arms. Various wires or tubes are necessary for supplying power and operating signals from a controller to the working tool. Conventionally, these wires or tubes are wound in a bundle in a suitable form, or are encased in a common cable or tube and clamped on the operating arm or are suspended from the operating arm or other support means.
These cables and tubes are made of flexible material. However, since they still have a certain degree of rigidity, a necessary slacking must be provided to these cables or wires to assure the movement of the working tool.
However, in a sophisticated robot which operates with high speed and precision, depending on the positioning of cables or tubes, the cable hampers a complicated movement of the operating arm. Furthermore, due to the tensioning or slack of the cable during the movement of the operating arm, a stress or an interference is exerted on the cable which illaffects the operability of the arms and the working tool, thereby the operation with high precision cannot be achieved.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cable support which assures the robot operation of high precision by eliminating the stress and the interference to the operating arms and the working tool, wherein the improvement is characterized in that a movable support is mounted on the operating arm at the wrist-side end thereof and an auxiliary support is mounted on the operating arm at the opposite end thereof to support the cable and that such supports can freely be rotated and tilted to readily follow the movement of the cable.